The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1887-10-12
sY MRS. FRANCES =. SHAW.
7seaslo.;on Copyrighted, 1887, by 4. " Kellogg
Newspaper Company.
CHAPTER VI.

Sssss-T7 the whole day.
%MsSaaa ..Hilmar has
gone out into the country with his
portfolio, he said, taking his place al
the table. "Hs VIII probably retura
tomorrow or the day a:ter."
stI am glad he is away said Mari
anne. Il will have his chamber
thoroughly cleaned.
Desirce turned pale.
.He must have gone il the night,
she said. Twas awake very early. but
did not hear the slightest sound il the
house"
1--WE need not trouble ourselves if he
stays away week, remarked Mari
anne, coolly.
'.Uncle, you are ill"' cried Desiree,
suddenly, and, bending over him, she
grasped his hand. ''Youlook as if you
had had bad night
s.I have not slept" he answered, with
a faint smile. Il have been kept
awake by many anxieties. shall leave
directly for the consultation.
s.You will not renew your practice
at time like this?" asked Marianne.
fin terror. Think of yourself and Of
us. am mortally afraid of typhus.
"It would be an unworthy phySciar
who thought of himself in such q CT;
Are you afraid, Papillon?'
Eyes, very much so,' she said.
blushing, as if in shame at her weak
mess. 'sBut if one loved needed my
help as nurse l should not hesitate tc
give it,
The doctor, on his return at noon from
the consultation, looked grave and anS-
ious.
1--WE hope that in town the disease
will be confined to isolated cases he
said; .'but in the outlying villages it has
become epidemic. You will see but
little of me- must DO all can. and
I would like my meals at as early an
hour as possible.
All at once Desiree laid her hand
upon his arm, ard gazing intently into
his face, said, with tremIous voice:
>s.Uncle, do you think our guest has
taken the route to the villages?>
Asndden pain as from some sharp
instrument shot through the doctors
heart, but he answered, calmly:
"That is scarce imaginable. The
picturesque region UsSilSow frcquents
for sketching lies eastwardly from ere.
The epidemic RACES in the villages to
the west. He may return this evening.
He did not come this night or the
day following. Arnim was sure that #
any thing had happened some word
would have been sent. Marianne did
not suffer moments anxiety. but
Desiree wandered restlessly about the
garden and terrace, gazing often down
the forest path for some glimpse OF the
absent one.
sComme lie jour NE dure
Passer lo;n DO toi."
echoed a constant refrain in her heart
though the lips were silent. 1t seemed
already months since he went away.
The doctor plunged into his practice
with fevecish ardor. 1t came as God
send to divert his thoughts. The WRIT
lent cases in the town increased rapid
ly. For the first time the destroying
angel of pestilence had invaded this
peaceful valley. The little hospital
soon overflowed. There was urgent
need of nurses. Solitary cases Of SELF
sacrifice, displayed by contrast the
egotism of human na.ore in It's
appalling nakedness. The general
motto was LET him save HIM
self who canr' Abroad, the doc
tors energies were taxed 10 the
utmost, his heart wru2g by the spec
tacle of human misery: at home he met
only anxious faces. Marianne made no
concealment of her terror; Desiree
fitted around pale and silent but with
a look of strange foreboding IN her
eyes. Ivan in his bewilderment broke
almost every dish he touched, and
turned things upside down. His grand
.preservative against disease was q
draurht of whisky. Kathe, the cook.
believed every half hour that she had
an attack of the murderous fever, and
ran bowling to her mistress. She
wanted the doctor constantly on hand,
and did not see why he could not pass
his whole time in the vicinity OF her
kitchen. Why should he run after
strangers and leave his own household
in the lurch? Arnim, at the incessant
entreaty of his cousin, had prescribed
drops as a preventive. She scarce al
lowed the vial out of her hand. Saeri-
fetal clouds Of smoke arose from every
room in the house but the doctors
study. Here, at his express command,
the wild waves of Marianne's fumiga-
ton fever were stayed.
III it aIays your fears, do what you
will,' he said, '.only let my study
alone"
It was remarkable how people Of all
conditions seeking help besieged the
house of the Russian doctor The rep
utation of his skill, his goodness and
unselfshness spread like wildtire. His
door-bell rang constantly day and
night. He was kept so busy that he
had scarce time to think Of Hi!mar's
absence. When he did recall 1t 1t was
with a sense OF relief at his distance
S.o-, Dx-;,.aa